New Zealanders Pay 'World's Highest Prices' For Popular Consumer Goods

A new international report has revealed New Zealanders pay the highest prices for the most popular consumer goods. Deutche Bank's report on Mapping the World's Prices said New Zealand was the priciest country in the world to buy Coca-Cola and Adidas shoes.

Consumer goods from high-profile global brands like Apple's iPhones and Macbooks and Levi's jeans were found to be expensive in New Zealand. Despite the high prices in consumer goods, the country remains one of the cheapest when it comes to a night in hotel in Wellington or Auckland than most of the cities in a global survey.

Wellington, New Zealand's biggest and capital city, was rated as among the cheapest cities worldwide for an overnight stay in a five-star hotel while Australia's Sydney was named the second most expensive after Russia's Moscow. A World Bank report has recently named Australia as the fourth expensive economy in the world.

Deutche Bank's report was based on online prices and secondary sources that gathered price data. The price for a 2-liter Coke in Auckland is at NZ$3.85 or $3.33, which is among the highest in the world.

According to reports, Coca-Cola Amatil said it doesn't have anything to with the product's retail prices. But some factors may be affecting prices in the country like high exchange rate for the New Zealand dollar, transportation costs and small market size.

Comparing the price of Adidas shoes in New Zealand and Australia, the brand is more expensive than the latter. Buying a Superstar 2 shoes, for example, will cost $150 in New Zealand while only $129 in Australia.

According to Adidas, the price of shoes depends on local delivery costs, taxes, customs duties and currency fluctuations. Quentin Bleakley, the company's country manager in New Zealand, said the company was working toward "harmonizing" its prices on a global scale.

New Zealand Retailers Association Chief Executive Mark Johnston usually operated on tight margins. But international brands of consumer goods have double-digit margins. He cautioned retailers that consumers can shop online and compare prices.

Johnston said New Zealand will not be the cheapest, but there were several advantages to buying products locally like personal service, Consumer Guarantees Act protection and getting goods instantaneously.